Robert Burns' birthday and birthplace kitchen

On January 25, 1759 the great Robert Burns was born in the bed on the right side of the kitchen which became an ale-house and is now a museum.


William and Agnes Burns are depicted in their cottage c1759 by the Scottish artist David Octavius Hill (1802-1870).  The bed niche/alcove is on the right, the hearth on the left.

In 1860 Edrien Cockburn painted "The Cottars Saturday Night" which is described as "Burns family in the Cottage Kitchen."

 

A depiction of the kitchen when the building was an ale-house owned by the Incorporated Shoemakers of Ayr. 

As with all the previous pictures, the following is from the National Trust for Scotland and shows "the fireplace, with oven attached.  Hanging from the swee [crane] is the girdle [griddle] for baking [oatcakes, scones] along with cooking pots."  I'm not sure when the oven was added, probably early 1800s, but it is lovely with a good sized firebox and ash pit.

©2016 Patricia Bixler Reber
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